A businessman at the centre of the biggest oil contraband case in Albania’s history has been given the minumum sentence of six months in prison.

Besar Likmeta

BIRN

Tirana

Albanian businessman Harji Elezaj, accused of perpetrating the largest financial crime ever uncovered in Albania, was jailed for six months on October 31, although the sentence only became public at the weekend.

Elezaj was accused, together with another businessman and with the complicity of tax and customs officials, of faking exports of diesel residue known as virgin naphtha, which was later illegally traded on the Albanian market from 2007 to 2009.

The prosecutor at Tirana’s district court, Daniela Sulaj, had sought a 13-year prison sentence for Elezaj, for aggravated fraud, money laundering, falsifying documents and breaching house arrest.

But the judicial panel headed by judge Martin Deda found Elezaj guilty only of falsifying documents and sentenced him to just six months in prison.

Unusually, the judicial panel did not offer any argument to support its verdict. The court also lifted the sequestration of Elezaj’s companies, Euroil Sh.a and Lajthiza Sh.a.

Elezaj was detained in March 2011, together with 12 other suspects, but quit house arrest a month later, only to reappear in court a year after that.

Of those suspects, the court also acquitted former tax official Dashamir Kasaj, who was accused of abuse of office, and Euroil Sh.a director Blerdar Rama, accused of aggravated fraud.

The ten other suspects, who were tried in a separate case after not contesting the charges, were also given lenient sentences ranging from three months’ to 16 months’ imprisonment.

The oil distillate virgin naphtha, which is produced by Albania’s refiner ARMO, has a poor octane quality and is not allowed to be sold inside in the country.

However, according to prosecutors, two oil trading companies using false documents and, helped by tax and customs officials, faked the export of the naphtha, selling it at filling stations as vehicle fuel.

As a result of the scam, the two companies, Euroil Sh.a and Fisheku Sh.a, pocketed an estimated 40 million euro in unpaid excise duties and value-added tax by selling the extremely poor quality fuel.

A spokesperson for the general prosecutor’s office, Albi Serani, told Balkan Insight that the verdict has been appealed.